US broadcast outlet; most detailed account of the 5-4 split and Barrett's reasoning

CBS News reported the 5-4 ruling in Watson v. RNC, with Justice Barrett joining Chief Justice Roberts and the three liberal justices to hold that Mississippi's grace period for mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day does not conflict with the federal statute setting Election Day. Eighteen states and territories, mostly Democrat-led, have such grace periods, which are now upheld ahead of the November 2026 midterms.

“The Supreme Court upheld post-Election Day ballot counting in a 5-4 ruling, rejecting a GOP challenge to Mississippi's law.”